Patent Leather Belt

[Dakota]

I do have a curiosity question, though, for anyone who has and wears both regular and patent leather plate shoes...

The only patent leather shoes I've ever worn were what came with rental tuxes, and those shoes were uncomfortable in just about every way possible, but the part attributable to the finish of the leather was that my feet got hot and sweaty - and I was mostly just standing around, and they were very stiff.

So, my question: Do you notice a difference in comfort between the two? Do the natural leather shoes flex more easily and breathe better? I would think so.

Personally (even if the softball HFMICs endorsed patent leather), the shoes would seem completely unsuitable for any athletic use and I would not use them for that purpose. The ease of cleaning and glaringly shiny look would not be a good trade-off for stiff sweaty shoes.